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Crochet – Rediscovering an Old Love

When my kids were little, right up until about 1999 I crocheted a lot! Beautiful Christmas ornaments, wedding accessories, and snowflakes — and believe it or not I sold quite a few; which helped to supplement my income and provide some extra cash for whatever.

When we started Sunburst Software Solutions, Inc. in August of 2000 – the crochet hook and all thoughts of being crafty/creative were pushed to the back burner and it’s remained that way until the last year.

In the last year I’ve rediscovered my love of crochet. It started with a sweater that I did last fall, followed by some crocheted butterflies that I made and put on the back of some jean jackets for my granddaughters for Christmas and a couple of pairs of Crocodile Stitch slippers.

Earlier this summer I found an amazing website – By Hook, By Hand – http://byhookbyhand.blogspot.com/ and a lady by the name of Beth Webber who makes the most incredible dolls! And to say they were inspirational is an understatement!

Meet Violet McFernleaf – she is a cross between Beth’s crocheted Bleuette and Free Spirit dolls.

Violet is 16″ tall (which is too big I think), but she was my “can I wrap my hands/heads around a doll project”.

She isn’t quite finished – she needs a hair cut REALLY bad, and her head and wig/hair is not yet attached – they are just sitting there. She also needs a pair of boots. Overall, I’m not displeased and when I do another (and yes, I think I will) the doll will be done using either sport or baby yarn instead of regular worsted weight yarn.

I’ve had a few people ask me if I would sell them; that’s a good question. While the materials cost isn’t all that much (around $20) the amount of time that goes into making one is incredible – I’ve worked 4-6 hours a day for the last month and still am not done.

What do you think? Do you like her? Would you buy her? And if so, what would you be willing to pay for her?

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2 thoughts on “Crochet – Rediscovering an Old Love”

I think she is totally delightful!! And not too big at all; 16 inches is a nice size. In fact, dolls from 3 inches to 24 inches are great

I hope you do indeed make more dolls, but I warn you, it can be addicting.

As for selling and pricing. This is always so hard because you really can’t price your doll for all the time it takes to make one. My rule of thumb is to recoup your material cost plus some additional mad money. When I do sell a doll, I usually sell them for $40 to $80, depending on the complexity, size, and did I really want to do this in the first place.

Beth, thank you so much for your words of encouragement! It really means alot.

The pictures your post of your dolls always make them seem like they are dainty and petite; whereas their is nothing dainty looking about “Violet” I’m sure a lot is yarn size, hook size, and of course how tight you work the fabric.

Yes, VERY addicting! I don’t even have “Violet” 100% finished and I found myself starting another one yesterday – with Baby Sport weight yarn LOL. Yes, I fear I’ve been bitten by the doll crafting bug!

Thanks for the pricing suggestions, they make perfect sense. I had someone tell me that I should charge $100 for her and I thought that was on the high side, especially for where I live.

Thank you again for the inspiration and all of your wonderful free patterns.